Sadhana Chatushtayam - Way to Salvation

by Jayaram V

Salvation or moksha means freedom from delusion (moha), illusion
(Maya), ignorance (ajnana), duality (dvanda), egoism (anava), attachment
(raga), aversion (dvesha) and death (mortality). In Hinduism it
is considered the highest state or the supreme state (parandhamam).
Beings who are caught in the cycle of births and deaths (samsara)
are subject to these limiting and binding phenomena. Those who transcend
them through austere self-effort have better chances of becoming
free. The rest remain bound to mortal life.

Freedom from the cycle of births and deaths and thereby from
the existential suffering, and all the causes which leads to them,
this is called variously as final liberation, salvation, moksha,
nirvana, kaivalya. A person who irrevocably achieves it is called
jivanmukta.

In Hinduism salvation is a recurring theme. It is perceived as
the best solution to overcome all the problems and suffering which
we experience here. The scriptures suggest various ways to achieve
it. Not all agree with regard to the methods and techniques required
to achieve salvation, but they all declare that the way to salvation
in human life is through effort and self-purification.

In his acclaimed work Vivekachudamani (the Jewel of Wisdom),
sri Shankaracharya identified four important qualities that are
very essential for achieving salvation or perfection on the spiritual
path. They are collectively known as the four spiritual endowments
(sadhana sampatti) or the four means of spiritual practice (sadhana
chatushtayam). Every spiritual practitioner is expected to know
them and cultivate them. They are the means to know Brahman and
attain liberation.

Spiritual life is not easy. On the spiritual path one has to
resolve many problems and overcome many obstacles, and unless one
is well equipped with knowledge and virtue, it is very difficult
to journey till the end. Those who are interested in spiritual life
and liberation should focus their effort on cultivating these four
endowments without fail, because without them one will be vulnerable
to many dangers and setbacks. The four spiritual means of liberation
are discussed below.

1. Discriminating intelligence (vivekam). Many
problems in our lives can be traced to the wrong decisions we make
due to the lack of knowledge, reasoning or discrimination. We must
know difference between the right and the wrong in the context of
what we intend to do and between what leads to freedom and what
leads to bondage. It is possible only when we have pure intelligence,
which is not tainted by the impurities of egoism, delusion, ignorance,
etc. Discriminating intelligence is a superior faculty of the mind,
which enables a practitioner to know the difference between truth
and falsehood, reality and delusion, knowledge and ignorance and
right and wrong.

Without discrimination it is not possible to know the truth about
who we really are and how we engage in actions which lead to consequences
(karma) and suffering. We need to know how we create our own suffering
and what we can do about it. It cannot be learned from reading the
scriptures only. We need to learn from observation and experience
also.

With proper discernment one realizes the ultimate truth behind
all the illusory phenomena one can find sanctuary in God or Brahman,
who is real and everything which arises from him as the objective
reality is but an illusion. Cultivating such discerning wisdom,
one becomes indifferent to the phenomenal world and develops dispassion,
detachment (vairagyam) and distaste for worldly pleasures.

The goal of these practices is liberation and the methods that
are used to achieve it are known as the path, the method (yoga)
or the practice (sadhana). Eventually, as one becomes stabilized
in the contemplation of Brahman and in the practice of Yoga, one
enters the undisturbed state of sameness and equanimity. One of
the principal aims of classical yoga is to cultivate viveka khyati
or the ability to discern things properly whereby one develops insight
into the nature of things and one's own Self.

2. Dispassion and detachment (vairagyam): The
Upanishads as well as the Bhagavadgita identify desires as the root
cause of bondage and suffering. Desires are caused by the activity
of the senses. Due to the repeated contact with the objects of pleasure
and pain, one becomes subject to attraction and aversion, which
eventually leads to attachments and desire-ridden actions, with
further consequences to one's life and destiny upon earth.

Our propensity to seek pleasure and avoid pain is primarily responsible
for afflictions and mental disturbances. Without a stable mind one
can achieve neither peace nor liberation. The classical yoga of
Patanjali focuses upon stilling the mind and entering deeper states
of Samadhi (self-absorption).

The Yogasutras (1.12) state that the afflictions of the mind
(citta vrittis) can be stilled only by practicing dispassion. Dispassion
arises when we develop discriminating wisdom and stop craving for
sense objects. More importantly, one has to become indifferent to
everything, including the gunas and their influence. True liberation
comes only when one is detached from everything, including the need
for liberation and dependence on God.

3. The six virtues (shatsampatti). Liberation
is not possible unless one is pure and righteous. For that, one
has to cultivate divine qualities through the predominance of sattva
to overcome selfishness. One has to restrain oneself from worldliness
and from the chief evils such as pride, anger, lust, greed, etc.
One should also focus upon acquiring the six virtues, which are
considered essential to overcome the impurities of the mind and
body. These six virtues are known as the six treasures or types
of wealth. They are listed below.

Shama: internal control of the mind and
the sense organs

Dama: External control of the body , especially
the organs of action (karmendriyas) and the organs of perception
(jnanendriyas) by withdrawing them or disassociating them from
the sense objects.

Uparati: Cultivating sameness towards the
dualities of life by renouncing the world and attachment with
worldly things, whereby one becomes free from the afflictions
of the mind and remains stable and focused.

Titiksha: It is the ability to tolerate
or withstand the sorrows and disappointments of life without
feeling disturbed or oppressed by them. It is the willingness
or the readiness to accept life unconditionally as it happens
without expectations, resignation, or resistance.

Shraddha: It is having faith in yourself,
you teacher, your religion, your scriptures, your practice,
your path, God, the divinities, the methods and techniques you
practice to perfect yourself on the spiritual path.

Samadhi: The ability to stabilize the mind
and remain self-absorbed. This happens only when the mind is
freed from all the afflictions through the practice of the eightfold
yoga and cultivation of sattva. Samadhi is said to be of several
types, but the highest of them is known as the dharmamegha samadhi.

4. Mumukshatvam: It is the intense aspiration
for liberation from the triple evils, namely egoism, bondage and
ignorance to which we are subject and become one with the Self or
enter the highest world of Brahman. A person who yearns for liberation
is known as mumukshu. The desire for liberation does not arise easily
in a person. It arises when a person cultivates discriminating intelligence
and attains the knowledge of the self and Brahman from study of
the scriptures and the teachings of learned masters.

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